Posts on the economy, work, business, income, and labour
Written By: - Date published: 12:01 pm, October 29th, 2013 - 81 comments
Auckland authorities disrespected past worker struggles in allowing an art work on the waterfront, that commemorates the ruthless suppression of the 1913 strike. After protests, it has now been covered. Time for the many to unite for fairness at work & in daily living!
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, October 29th, 2013 - 51 comments
A charity is taking on the funding of the essential work on monitoring poverty, in the face of Paula Bennett, Bill English and John Key et al failing to do their job: a return to Dickensian & Edwardian times.
Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, October 28th, 2013 - 14 comments
From the movement that brought you equal pay, the weekend, minimum wages, child protection laws, injury prevention, the right to organise …
Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, October 28th, 2013 - 23 comments
Latest revelations about the NSA’s international surveillance show it is about “full spectrum dominance” of military, economic, business and political activities. The TICS Bill is the latest part of Key’s changes to NZ’s surveillance agencies, further enabling the US government dominance via NSA, especially in business & politics.
Written By: - Date published: 7:34 am, October 27th, 2013 - 61 comments
US mathematician Peter Turchin believes that mathematics can predict events such as the recent constitutional crisis in America and has constructed a model based on social and economic data that he believes predicts periods of instability and disaster for nations. This work shows the negative side of inequality and neatly compliments the work of Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett in the Spirit Level that showed the benefits of increased equality.
Written By: - Date published: 2:23 pm, October 25th, 2013 - 103 comments
NZ needs government legislation & financial support to maintain local screen productions. Steven Joyce makes some hollow noises about prioritising NZ-focused productions, while allowing the Auckland industry to decline. Lucy Lawless blames Joyce for NZ Film tax rebates & prioritising BIG Oil.
Written By: - Date published: 8:35 am, October 25th, 2013 - 23 comments
Meridian’s share price appears to be under value and will no doubt ensure that shareholders reap an early bonus. With a rate of return of over 10% for the first year you have to wonder what economic genius decided to sell shares to pay down debt with an interest rate of half that amount.
Over in the UK the tories there have engaged in a similar exercise where Royal Mail was sold under value and shareholders watched as their shares went up in value by over 60% in a month.
I wonder if Key and English have been receiving lessons from the Tories?
Written By: - Date published: 9:51 am, October 24th, 2013 - 117 comments
The NZ screen industry is in a precarious state, unable to compete with incentives in other countries to attract the crums from Hollywood productions, impacted by the currency high dollar rate. Innovative ideas needed for an independent NZ industry, linked with public broadcasting TV & online viewing. [Updated: Maori TV & Barry Barclay]
Written By: - Date published: 8:33 pm, October 23rd, 2013 - 34 comments
The Government has announced the results of the Meridian Share float and the results are all bad. The country will receive up to $1.1 billion less than the shares were worth in 2011 and overseas entities will own 13% of the shares. Remind me why we are selling the shares ?
Written By: - Date published: 10:59 am, October 23rd, 2013 - 37 comments
Kennedy Graham’s post on NZ’s appalling record on climate change: ‘Atlas shrugs off climate change – a New Zealand policy failure of monumental proportions‘, includes a great quote about Key shrugging in the face of his (and “neoliberalism”) failures. So apt.
Written By: - Date published: 7:29 am, October 23rd, 2013 - 119 comments
In the same week the government announces a five million dollar gift to a yachting syndicate, Child Poverty Action Group has revealed that 13,000 of our poorest families have had their income slashed.
Written By: - Date published: 6:24 pm, October 22nd, 2013 - 22 comments
Cunliffe talked of moving from a “from a cost-based to a values-based” strategy. We need a new narrative: valuing all, including children of those on benefits; about long term benefits for all of less inequality & poverty, and more affordable housing & better public transport, & more.
Written By: - Date published: 8:05 pm, October 21st, 2013 - 61 comments
Winston Peters’ KiwiFund proposal would nationalise KiwiSaver. Russel Norman supports it, but in competition with private schemes. Cunliffe is open to negotiation. Key is dismissive, but says Peters is so untrustworthy he is likely to back down & form an alliance with National anyway.
Written By: - Date published: 5:51 pm, October 18th, 2013 - 21 comments
Last week there was a Fabian debate between Wayne Mapp and Jane Kelsey about the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement that New Zealand started originally as a free trade agreement. Bearing in mind the short notice there were a quite credible audience. However to enhance the audience, Lyn Collie was inveigled into filming and editing the debate. Here is the film of the debate..
Written By: - Date published: 12:48 pm, October 17th, 2013 - 41 comments
Bill English praised the Cullen Fund on its 10th anniversary yesterday. He noted it has achieved an average return of 8.84%, well above its target. He failed to mention that he opposed the Fund being created and that he suspended contributions to the Fund at the worst possible time. And he still doesn’t want to resume them for 7 years.
Written By: - Date published: 7:57 am, October 16th, 2013 - 44 comments
So, Mighty River Power has so much spare cash at the moment that it just doesn’t know what to do with it. Rather than pay out a special dividend, they’re going to buy back some shares. This, naturally, has raised eyebrows because these shares were only just sold to ‘mum and dad’. But the bigger question is: where did Mighty River get a spare $50m in the first place?
Written By: - Date published: 11:56 am, October 15th, 2013 - 37 comments
This morning Cunliffe shows how to front the media on current issues, and respond to journalists questions clearly and decisively while being informed on the issues. Questions about Kōhanga Reo National Trust, US government debt crisis, affordable housing, need better skills training, Euthanasia Bill.
Written By: - Date published: 7:42 am, October 15th, 2013 - 36 comments
Yesterday, the Greens illustrated the size of the gambling concessions in the SkyCity deal with a to-scale cardboard display in Aotea Square. The visually striking move got extensive coverage on Breakfast yesterday and a rather, odd, story in the Herald, which chose to focus on the cost of the protest. What was that, presumably, outrageous cost? $3,000.
Written By: - Date published: 6:01 pm, October 14th, 2013 - 32 comments
Things are appearing to be quite bad in the south and in Wellington, with worse to come.
Written By: - Date published: 9:01 pm, October 13th, 2013 - 30 comments
It isn’t that hard to get around the prurient arsehole peekers that populate the NSA and the kiwi puppets – John Key being a prime example. Encrypt, falsify your “metadata”, and send lots of crap purely so they have no idea what to look at. Hell – even the NZ Herald gets it these days as in an anonymously published article in the weekend rag…
Written By: - Date published: 8:01 am, October 12th, 2013 - 30 comments
John Armstrong has a good column on National’s attack on Kiwi workers today. Covering off David Cunliffe’s speech to the CTU, Armstrong talks about the way the Nats have been playing small target on their raft of small employment changes that add up to a serious attack on the wages and rights of all of […]
Written By: - Date published: 4:05 pm, October 11th, 2013 - 12 comments
Maurice Williamson has apparently been proclaiming that the lower than expected population growth in the census (mostly from people fleeing his government and emigrating) means that a revision of Auckland’s infrastructure plans was needed, such as an increase in high-rise apartments and the construction of an inner-city rail loop. Bullshit. Perhaps the idiot minister should look at *where* the growth has been going…
Written By: - Date published: 11:32 am, October 10th, 2013 - 45 comments
The Board of Mighty River Power has announced that it is buying back up to 2% of its shares because this is a prudent use of capital and will be value enhancing. It is a shame that the Government was incapable of seeing this. Expect a surge in its share price to occur and I suspect that this will be beneficial for the Meridian float.
Written By: - Date published: 9:37 am, October 10th, 2013 - 21 comments
An article in today’s UK Guardian highlights the role of Key’s, US-supporting, government in the GCSB, Dotcom, surveillance saga (and TPP). It is chilling & shows why we need to continue to campaign against NZ’s surveillance state legislation and for TPPA transparency.
Written By: - Date published: 8:34 am, October 10th, 2013 - 8 comments
Cunliffe’s CTU speech is significant, rousing and inspiring, laying out a shift “from a cost-based to a value-based” strategy- for an inclusive society and one that provides a good life for “all” Kiwis, with opportunities for all. Video of the speech is a must see. And social security? [Update: Gordon Campbell] & Turei’s speech
Written By: - Date published: 6:29 am, October 10th, 2013 - 139 comments
David Cunliffe showed that he wasn’t just pandering for votes in the leadership race by reaffirming and strengthening his commitment to work rights at the CTU conference yesterday. When David is PM the minimum wage will rise to $15 an hour, the public service will set an example by paying the living wage, and the Nats’ attacks on rights will be reversed – no more Fire at Will, no more youth rates.
Written By: - Date published: 12:52 pm, October 9th, 2013 - 20 comments
Hadyn Green was at the Brunei TPPA talks in August for Consumer NZ and a couple of other groups. His post on Public Address today is an excellent run through many of the points that bother me. For instance a section on intellectual property where the TPPA will restrict the current freedom of trade! Arrgghh!.
Written By: - Date published: 11:41 am, October 9th, 2013 - 88 comments
NZ’s broadcasting and digital communications policies, provisions and regulations do not provide the capability for widespread democratic engagement. Cunliffe has twigged that broadcasting and digital communications policies need to be inter-linked in the 21st century context. NZ’s policies, provisions & regulations on both need major restructuring.
Written By: - Date published: 10:59 am, October 9th, 2013 - 56 comments
Stopping contributions to the Cullen Fund was always going to stand out as one of John Key and Bill English’s most economically inept decisions. They chose to stop the Fund buying assets just when they were at decades low prices, Crown borrowing was cheap, and markets were already recovering. The cost in just four years: $2.5 billion. And rising.
Written By: - Date published: 8:48 am, October 9th, 2013 - 108 comments
A recent study gives a strong indication of the extent of, and the recent increases in, insecure work in NZ. It is being released at the CTU conference today, along with the launch of a campaign to improve worker security. [Update: Cunliffe to CTU on Labour pledges]
Written By: - Date published: 7:55 am, October 9th, 2013 - 44 comments
One thing John Key always seems to like to do is to appear to be stupid about his own job. Last week the fool said that parliament had to ratify a TPPA treaty. Either through incompetence at his job or by deliberately lying to the public, he is completely wrong. This is something that a few minutes reading of the MFAT website could have told him.
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